BERLIN/VILNIUS (dpa-AFX) - Only a very small number of the modern Leopard 2A6 battle tanks supplied by Germany are still in service in Ukraine - which is why the Green Party budget expert Sebastian Schäfer is calling for faster steps to make them operational again. At the turn of the year, the defense budget expert wrote to the defence companies involved, Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW): "Unfortunately, only a very small number of the battle tanks supplied can still be used by Ukraine." Repairs take a very long time because, according to the industry's repair workshop ("hub") in Lithuania, there is a lack of suitable spare parts.

Schäfer had visited the workshop in Lithuania together with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius before Christmas. There is an "urgent need for action" to quickly improve the spare parts situation, according to his letters, which are available to the German Press Agency. In addition, repair attempts by the Ukrainian army had led to further damage to the tanks. The extent to which this could be prevented through better training of mechanics or the provision of instructions, or whether repairs could be carried out in Ukraine, should be examined.

After a long delay, the German government handed over a total of 18 Leopard 2 tanks from the Bundeswehr to Ukraine in March. The delivery is part of the aid against the Russian attack. The vehicles are now suffering from battle damage, but in some cases there is also considerable technical wear and tear from driving and firing./cn/DP/zb